New Year, new you: what are the best self-help books?

New Year’s resolutions on the slide? We ask three experts which personal
improvement classics really work

Pilgrims on a quest for enlightenment: many of us reach for a self-help book in JanuaryPhoto: Alamy

By Victoria Lambert

7:00AM GMT 10 Jan 2014

Self-help books are a billion-dollar business and top the New Year bestseller lists as many of us look for inspiration and support in changing our habits or to cope with the stresses of life. We asked psychologist Hilary Bruffell, lecturer at the Open University, business coach Charles Sutton and counsellor Jo Hemming to cast an expert eye on the best paperbacks to pep you up in 2014.

Positive thinking and visualisation can help you overcome disease and anxieties brought on by childhood trauma.

What’s the catch?

There really isn’t any scientific basis to the idea.

Who wrote it?

Louise Hay.

What does she know?

Hay, now 87, is a Christian Scientist, who has lectured widely on positive health. She claims her own principles of visualisation and affirmation cured her of cancer in six months.

Does it sell?

40 million copies in 30 languages.

Celebrity fans:

Miranda Kerr, Geri Halliwell.

Hilary Bruffell says:

“I always have a bit of an issue with self-styled gurus, but Louise Hay appears to have stood the test of time. Good for those with health issues, just as long as they see it as complementary to conventional healing and not an alternative.”

We must accept that life is difficult, and that we must practise self-discipline and take responsibility for our actions in order to achieve spiritual growth and understand the meaning of universal love.

What’s the catch?

With a strong emphasis on faith, some find the book – as a putative publisher did – too “Christ-y”.

Who wrote it?

M Scott Peck, a US psychiatrist, whose nickname was the National Shrink. Oh, and he was an exorcist.

What does he know?

Peck was was a deeply spiritual, non-denominational Christian who had studied Zen Buddhism. He was first to admit that his private life did not chime with his philosophy – he married twice, had extra-marital affairs and was estranged from several of his children.

Does it sell?

It spent 13 years on the New York Times bestseller list, sold 10 million copies worldwide and was translated into more than 20 languages.

Celebrity fans:

Kelly Brook, Bill Clinton.

Charles Sutton says:

“The book, though dated, has a spiritual element that seems to be increasingly popular today. It is one of the few self-help books that avoids the bonfire.”

Learning to meditate can help you deal with stress, ill-health and unhappiness and teach you to be compassionate to yourself.

What’s the catch?

You have to find time to learn the techniques – difficult in a stressed-out life.

Who wrote it?

Prof Mark Williams and Dr Danny Penman.

What do they know?

Quite a bit: Williams is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford. Penman is an award-winning journalist.

Does it sell?

100,000 copies so far.

Celebrity fans:

Ruby Wax, Goldie Hawn.

Hilary Bruffell says:

“Of all the books, this one probably will have the most positive effect on your life. There is a wealth of research supporting the positive effects of meditating, not just making us feel emotionally better and calmer, but on health as well.”